HNW Couple Upsizing Before Retirement
Background: Meet Oliver and Ava
Oliver and Ava are a high-net-worth couple in their 40s from Melbourne’s North-East.
Ava works as a Management Consulting Partner at a global firm, while Oliver runs his own self-employed business. Together, they hold investments in property and significant equity in Ava’s employer’s company. Their 5-year age difference also presented a strategic planning opportunity we helped them navigate.
Their financial portfolio includes their primary residence in Eaglemont and investment properties across Torquay, Shoreham, and Port Fairy. While their assets are substantial, they wanted to understand how upsizing their home might impact their ability to retire at their target ages of 50 (Oliver) and 60 (Ava).
Key Results at a Glance
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Early Retirement :Project Ava could retire at 49 or 53 after upgrading home
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Low Risk :Significantly lower risk as a result of our strategy, with very similar projected asset position
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Low Debt:Significantly lower debt levels as a result of our advice
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Super Contributions:Maximise super contributions, including concessional catch-up rule
Why Did They Seek Advice?
- Determine if upsizing their family home in five years is financially viable without delaying retirement.
- Gain clarity on the suitability and performance of their SMSF investments.
- Develop a clear retirement roadmap aligned with their target retirement ages (Oliver at 50, Ava at 60).
- Optimise superannuation strategies considering their age gap and future goals.
- Assess and address Oliver’s lack of insurance cover after cancelling his previous policy due to high costs, ensuring appropriate protection is in place moving forward.
Strategies Implemented
In our early conversations with Oliver and Ava, we sought to understand their long-term lifestyle goals, investment strategy, and areas where they felt uncertain.
Through financial modelling, we helped them quantify how lifestyle decisions, such as upgrading their home could impact their retirement dates. We also reviewed their superannuation structure, investment concentration risk, and undertook an insurance needs analysis to assess if their cover aligned with their actual risk exposure.
Investment Advice (Property, Shares & SMSF):
- Identified significant concentration risk due to overexposure to Ava’s employer stock and property holdings.
- Advised a sell-down strategy of company shares as they vest, using proceeds to pay tax, reduce debt, and reinvest into super and diversified assets.
- Not only does this diversify their investment holdings, it diverts their funds to the highly tax-effective environment of super and because it is invested in Oliver’s name, it will be tax-free and accessible to them sooner than it would be to Ava.
- Further, accounted for the tax implications of selling accumulated company shares with substantial unrealised capital gains. Despite using lower return assumptions for super compared to holding company shares, the strategy delivers a similar projected outcome, while reducing risk and improving the net (after-tax) return.
- Simplified their SMSF by transitioning from under-managed direct shares to a diversified portfolio of ETFs, managed funds (including bespoke direct investments), and M-funds.
- Recommended appointing Accounting and Adviser Services (AAS) to manage SMSF administration, reducing their ongoing burden and ensuring seamless implementation of the investment strategy.
- Modelled the financial impact of upsizing their home in 5 years and how this would shift Ava’s retirement age by up to 4 years without strategic adjustments.
- Based on our projections, after Ava and Oliver upgrade their home and implement our strategies, they will have a net financial position that is in line with their current strategy of continuing to accumulate direct shares.
Superannuation Advice:
- Recommended maximising concessional contributions via salary sacrifice to grow super tax-effectively and reduce assessable income, saving approximately $688 per annum in tax.
- Utilised the “catch-up” concessional contribution rule to allow Ava to contribute an additional $11,772 in the FY ending 2022, saving an additional $2,001.20 in tax.
- Under our recommended strategy of maximising concessional contributions and re-distributing funds to Oliver with non-concessional contributions, it would appear that Ava could be in a position to retire by age 49, a year earlier than desired.
Insurance Advice:
- Conducted a comprehensive insurance needs analysis. Determined that Oliver, while currently uninsured, did not require cover, as his income was not essential for meeting their retirement goals.
- Confirmed that Ava requires cover, as her income is central to the success of their retirement plan.
- Ensured that existing employer-provided cover was adequate and cost-effective, helping avoid unnecessary premiums while maintaining appropriate protection.
Debt & Risk Management:
- Recommended surplus proceeds from share sales be used to reduce net debt and Our strategy showed that in 10 years, their net debt would be substantially lower than if they continued their current path, reducing their financial risk profile.
Outcomes and Benefits
- Ava can retire at age 49 (one year earlier than planned) with the recommended strategy in place.
- Projected annual tax savings of over $2,600 through concessional and catch-up super contributions.
- Reduced concentration risk by shifting away from overexposure to employer stock and direct shares.
- Factored in capital gains tax on vested shares and delivered similar returns with lower risk and better net (after-tax) position.
- Projected significantly lower net debt over 10 years, reducing long-term financial risk.
- Transitioned from unmanaged direct shares to a diversified ETF and managed fund portfolio.
- Removed unnecessary cover for Oliver, maintained essential cover for Ava, optimising cost without compromising protection.
- Successfully integrated plans to upsize the family home without compromising long-term retirement outcomes.
Key Takeaway
Ava and Oliver’s story highlights how tailored financial advice can uncover hidden risks and optimise wealth for high-net-worth couples. Despite a strong foundation, they needed a strategic plan to reduce risk, enhance tax efficiency, and align their investments with long-term retirement and lifestyle goals.
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Important Note
Produced with our client’s permission. Names within this case study have been changed to protect the client’s right to privacy. The content of this case study has been based on a real-life client. Any information provided here is general advice only and does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. This information should not be taken as comprehensive and does not constitute legal or financial advice. You should seek legal, financial or other professional advice before relying on any content. Yield Financial Planning is not responsible to you or anyone else for any loss suffered in connection with the use of this information. Information is only current at the date initially published.
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